The unseeded Goffin is considered the favourite

Thursday’s men’s second round will be in the lower half of the draw. There are far fewer top players in this section than in the top half. Interesting matches are nevertheless available, one duel for example is the clash between Frances Tiafoe and David Goffin.

The US-American Tiafoe is currently ranked number 27 in the world and thus more than 20 places ahead of his second round opponent from Belgium. Nevertheless, the higher odds are offered on the US boy in the match between Tiafoe and Goffin. There are two reasons for this: clay court is by far the weakest surface for the US player and Goffin’s current world ranking does not reflect his qualities.

The Belgian was injured for a long time and is also considered a very strong clay court player, so the role of favourite he has been given is absolutely understandable. After all, in 2016 he already reached the last eight in Paris.

Frances Tiafoe – Statistics & current form

For many years now, American tennis fans have had to wait for a successor to Sampras, Agassi or Roddick – and the prospects of that changing in the near future are not particularly good either. After all, the Americans now have three top-30 players again. Among them is the 24-year-old Tiafoe, who was already number 25 in the world at the beginning of May and is now two places further back.

Hardcourt specialist with a lot of bang

In the course of preparing for the French Open 2022, Tiafoe reached the final in Estoril, Portugal, in a complete surprise, which he lost outright in two sets against Sebastian Baez (Zverev’s second-round opponent). Especially the victory against Davidovich Fokina was quite surprising. Nevertheless, clay court is the surface on which Tiafoe feels anything but comfortable.

The US-American is a player who creates a lot of pressure and is out to win points quickly. The slow clay court does not suit his game at all and his record on the red clay is correspondingly poor. On Tuesday, he celebrated a victory against Benjamin Bonzi from France/Mongolia in three close sets. With 23 break points, he was convincing as a return player, but only converted five chances.

The 7:5, 7:5 and 7:6 victory was a first for Tiafoe – as he has never won a match at Roland Garros before. In each of his six previous appearances, Tiafoe had to pack his bags after the first game. In that respect, the French Open 2022 is already a success, but the chances of success against a proven clay court specialist are not necessarily good. Between Tiafoe and Goffin, betting on the US American is not recommended.

David Goffin – Statistics & current form

The second half of the 2021 season was a pure disaster for David Goffin. An ankle injury forced him to retire on the grass in Halle, which is why he also missed the tradition-rich Wimbledon tournament. In North America, he tried to make a comeback, but he lost significantly at both the Cincinnati tournament and the US Open and quickly felt that he was still a long way short of his normal form. As a result, he took time off and ended his season as early as September. The bare numbers meant just as many defeats in the last seven matches in 2021.

Goffin on his way back

The way back after a long break is very arduous for many players, as can currently be seen with Dominic Thiem and also Stan Wawrinka. Fortunately, Goffin had a “lighter injury” and could now come close to returning to his successful past days in 2022. In the season so far, Goffin looks at a record of 21 wins and 14 losses. The best result was the tournament victory at the first clay court tournament in Marrakech, Morocco.

Generally, the clay court is the surface on which he has the highest win rate as a tennis professional. Goffin won 67 per cent of his matches (100 of 203 games) on the red clay. Across all surfaces, Goffin has a win rate of 64.33 per cent. He also underlined his strength on clay in Madrid when he only lost out of the qualifying round to Rafael Nadal in the third round. He only lost to the strongest clay court player of all time in the tiebreak of the third set and even missed four match points!

In his first round match against the Czech youngster Jiri Lehecka, Goffin needed four sets, but on the whole he could look back on a very satisfactory performance. All in all, the Belgian is clearly stronger on clay than the American. Therefore, not only the prediction on the Belgian is recommended for Tiafoe against Goffin, but also the set handicap Goffin -1.5 is a realistic option.

Frances Tiafoe – David Goffin Direct comparison / H2H record

Head to Head: 1:3

The two professionals have already faced each other four times, with the Belgian Goffin leading 3:1 in the head-to-head comparison. However, those four duels were played between 2016 and 2019, at a time when Tiafoe was not yet at the level he has reached in recent months. Another argument why the direct comparison has little meaning for the second-round match in Paris is the fact that the two players have never faced each other on clay court.

Frances Tiafoe – David Goffin Tip

The world ranking list in tennis only serves as a small indicator of the actual performance. Due to the different surfaces and also the consideration of only twelve months, the better ranked player is not always the player who should win a match. An example of this is the second round match between Frances Tiafoe and David Goffin, where betting on Goffin brings the lower odds. The Belgian is more than 20 places behind his rival from the USA.

However, Goffin was already a top ten player, then missed a long time due to injury and is now on his way back. Moreover, the clay court is his strongest surface, while it is Tiafoe’s weakest. All in all, there is hardly anything in favour of the 24-year-old American and with six units between Tiafoe and Goffin, the forecast is alluded to Goffin -1.5 sets. Tiafoe is not expected to win more than one set